From China to Canada Untold Stories of the Chinese Art Collection at ROM

Why It Matters

Understanding these origins reshapes how museums interpret and contextualize Asian collections, informing provenance research, ethical collecting practices, and public narratives about cultural heritage. This has direct implications for curatorial decisions, potential restitution claims, and how institutions engage diverse audiences.

Summary

Speakers at the Royal Ontario Museum outlined the century-long formation of the ROM’s Chinese art holdings, tracing key roles played by donor-dealers such as George Crofts and institutional figures like Charles T. Currelly and Sir Edmund Walker. The panel—comprising ROM and external curators and researchers—used archival correspondence and collection case studies to map early 20th-century acquisition networks, highlight links between the ROM and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and examine changing tastes in Chinese art. Presentations emphasized both iconic objects in the ROM galleries and lesser-known pieces, situating their arrival in Canada within broader imperial-era collecting practices. The talks also showcased contemporary scholarship reassessing provenance, display histories, and cross-institutional collaborations.

Original Description

From the iconic shizi (lions) on Queen’s Park that greet visitors outside the Museumo, to remarkable burial treasures from the Tang and Han dynasties housed inside, how did Toronto come to host one of the world’s most significant collections of Chinese art and culture?

Set against a backdrop of early 20th-century colonial networks and collecting practices, ROM invites visitors to revisit the history of ROM’s China galleries with fresh insight while examining the unique relationship between ROM Founding Director Charles Trick Currelly and British antique dealer and collector George Crofts.

Their impact on the world of Chinese art is significant - their shared ambition to build “the greatest Chinese collection” in Toronto laid the foundation for what would become a cornerstone of a Museum for all Ontarians that continues to celebrate global art and culture. Learn more about the history of this collection, and how it serves to connect both diasporic and global audiences in Toronto and Canada to Chinese history and the legacy of Chinese art.

Featuring illustrated talks by Wen-chien Cheng and Sara Irwin from ROM, and Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Hiromi Kinoshita, join us for an engaging look at the history of 20th century art collecting and scholarship in North America, and how it has changed - and continues to change - in a constantly evolving world.

Program Partner: Bishop White Committee: Friends of East Asia